Squeak. Squeak.
A harsh grinding sound, like metal being scraped apart, echoed across the frozen battlefield.
Jozu Diamond braced himself as he clamped both hands around the cyan sword energy flying toward Whitebeard.
Even with his immense strength, his feet dragged backward across the ice, leaving two deep trails behind him as the force pushed him away.
The moment the cyan slash was about to reach the Moby Dick, its speed dropped sharply.
By the time it brushed the ship's hull, it finally dissipated into the air.
Jozu exhaled heavily.
Sweat rolled down his forehead as he stared at Dracule Mihawk in the distance, eyes sharp and serious.
As expected of Mihawk, the man known across the world as the strongest swordsman.
Even his casual strike required Jozu's full strength to intercept.
"Blocked. He blocked it."
"That was the world's greatest slash."
"That is the captain of the third division, Diamond Jozu. What a monster."
The nearby Marines whispered among themselves in disbelief.
"What a pity," Mihawk murmured faintly.
He slid the black blade Yoru back into place and walked calmly to his original position.
"Eagle Eye is done already?"
"He's not going to continue?"
Some Marines clenched their jaws in frustration.
"Tch. So much for relying on the Seven Warlords," Sengoku muttered with a dark expression atop the execution platform.
Seeing Mihawk step back, Jozu's tense expression eased.
A wide grin revealed his sharp white teeth as he looked around at the surrounding Marines, the meaning behind his stare unmistakable.
He had thought Mihawk came to truly fight him, but clearly he had assumed too much.
Jozu stomped forward with thunderous force.
His diamond armor glinted as he rushed toward the surrounding Marines.
If no one could stop him, then they would simply fall before him.
Two sharp ice arrows suddenly materialized beneath his feet, freezing him in place.
Jozu's expression tightened as he saw Aokiji appear before him without warning.
"Well now," Aokiji sighed, frost escaping his breath, "Kizaru is working harder than usual today. I can't afford to slack off."
"Marine Admiral Aokiji," Jozu growled, eyes cold.
Without the slightest hint of fear, he raised his massive diamond fist and slammed it down with overwhelming force.
The air trembled.
Even before the fist reached him, the sheer pressure made Aokiji's coat whip backward violently.
"As expected of the third division captain. That strength is a little frightening," Aokiji said calmly.
Jozu's blow crashed into him with meteor-like force.
Aokiji's upper body shattered instantly into frozen shards that scattered across the battlefield.
"Tch. Elemental," Jozu muttered through clenched teeth.
The ice fragments regrouped as Aokiji reformed with another sigh.
"That's also a strength worthy of acknowledgment."
"You think I'm afraid of elemental users?" Jozu barked.
With a surge of will, his Armament Haki erupted.
His shining diamond form shifted into a towering black metal giant as Haki coated every surface of his body.
"Oh great, Armament. Troublesome," Aokiji said, his figure flickering forward.
Jozu was not one to back down.
The two crashed into each other instantly, fists meeting frost in a violent storm of blows.
Their duel rivaled the intensity of Marco's battle against Kizaru in the skies above.
The force of each strike blasted the surrounding area clear.
Neither Marine nor pirate dared remain anywhere near the clash.
Between Jozu's crushing strength and Aokiji's freezing aura, ordinary fighters would perish instantly.
The space around them soon became a widening vacuum.
Fortunately, the ice battlefield created across Crescent Bay was large enough to hold all of Marineford's forces.
Even so, the battle between the two was only a fraction of the chaos erupting across the bay.
High above, Akainu frowned as he observed the fighting.
His gaze swept over the Seven Warlords, most of whom had yet to move.
His irritation simmered, the lava around his body sparking and hissing with heat.
"These pirates are useless," Akainu growled.
Without warning, lava flared around him.
He used Soru and shot forward, his target the one man who stood alone upon the Moby Dick.
Whitebeard.
Marco was locked in battle with Kizaru.
Jozu was fighting Aokiji.
The remaining division commanders were held down by Marine Vice Admirals.
There was no one left to stand between Akainu and the strongest man in the world.
A drop of lava fell to the ice beneath him, hissing as it carved a hole through the frozen ground.
All eyes turned toward the Admiral as he advanced.
"He wants to take on Pops?" Marco scoffed between exchanges with Kizaru.
"He must be tired of living," Jozu sneered as he dodged a sweep of frost.
"He should know better than anyone how terrifying Pops truly is."
Many Marines, however, were thrilled.
"Go, Admiral Akainu!"
"Akainu will defeat Whitebeard!"
Their cheers echoed loudly.
Even Akainu felt a brief swell of pride as the live broadcast Den Den Mushi focused tightly on him, projecting his image to the entire world.
The world watched the lava-covered Marine Admiral charge toward the legendary Whitebeard.
Whitebeard laughed, his voice rolling over the battlefield.
"Gu ra ra ra. Magma brat, you dare cause trouble for this old man? You are a hundred years too early."
"Whitebeard, you're finished. Lava Fist."
Hovering above the Moby Dick, Akainu formed a massive fist of molten rock and struck downward.
The heat distorted the air around him, and the temperature surged.
Whitebeard narrowed his eyes.
There wasn't the slightest hint of fear, only disdain.
He swung his bisento upward, splitting the very air as cracks in the atmosphere formed around the blade.
Crescent sword energy wrapped in Vibrations surged skyward.
There was no struggle.
Only overwhelming dominance.
The vibrating crescent slash tore through the enormous lava fist, splitting it cleanly in half.
Akainu's eyes widened and he immediately shifted into his elemental state to avoid the attack.
But the vibrations engulfed him.
A wet crack echoed as Akainu spat blood and was hurled across the battlefield like a broken kite, crashing violently in the distance.
Silence washed over the Marines nearby.
Everything—from Akainu's confident charge to Whitebeard's devastating counter—happened in less than a second.
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